The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-16
READING FOR THE DAY.
Sunday-School Lesson for Jan. 23, 1887.
NOAH AND THE ARK.-Gen. vi 9-22.
Golden Text-Noah did according unto all that the

Il
NOAH AND THE ARK.-Gen vi. 9-22.
Golden Text-Noah did according unto all that the
Lord communication. vi g.
THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM.
The Bible is strangely silent concerning the
history of the descendants of Cain, and we
know little concerning them save their geeat
wickedness. But the word gives us the 1emes
Of tho children of Seth, as from this line came
Noah, one of the Old Testament types of Christ
Seth, the third son Of Adam, whose name, "the
replacer.' suggests the dead Able, was also like
him in spirit There are but ten generations
given from Adam to Noah, but there are good
reasons to believe that, just as st. Matthew, in
giving the genealopy of our Lord, leaves out
m any importa MT names SO here We have only
those best known. The dates given by Arch
bishop Usher, 225 years ago. and placed in the
margins of our Bibles, not those now ac-
cepted. The Septuaeint version, the one used
and quoted from by Christ and the apostles, who
thus gave 1t their authority, gives over 600 years
more time to the deluge, placing it il the year
2256 after Adam, and, as Rawlinson shows.
about 5000 B. G. We prefer the authority of
Christ to that of Archbishop Usher.
In the course Of time it came to pass that the
sons OF God saw and took wives of the daughters
of men (Gen vi, l, q, and from these marriages
came 1.-The giants 1.-THE mighty men," and 1.-The
men of renown" wi A. And the wickedness of
this race was such that God decided to send
food to destroy it. The new race may have been
OF gigantic stature, but they were more probably
men of gigantic crimes, fierce, bloodthirsty and
cruel. The Interpretation now most generally
adopted is that 1.-The sons Of God" were the de-
scendants Of Seth and worshpers of Jehovah,
and that "the daughters of men" were of the
race of Cain. The union of the two races meant
the olotting ont OF all worship of Jehovah. and
soul-destroying deluge of wickedness by the side
of which the food of Noah was mild and tender.
THE EXTENT OF THE DELUeE
There can be no question of the fact that the
deluge extended far enough to cover all the in
habitable parts of the earth, and that all living
men, save the family of Noah, were destroyed.
But it has beer assumed that the Bible teaches
that the whole physical globe was covered with
water so deep as to cover the tops of all the high
est mountains. Here, as in all cases, we want
to get at the real teachings of the Bible and
what the inspired writer's declare. We believe
that in all cases they taught the truth; but what
did they teachf There is a very general agree
ment among the writers of all schools of theology
that the flood did not extend over the whole
globe. but sufficiently wide TO destroy the de-
| scendants Of Adam There had not been time
| for the race to extend beyond Asia. and it WAS
the inhabitable part of 'the earth" that was cor
rupt wi IL 1t was to be ''the end Of all flesh, J"
| and Of the flesh that "flled the earth with
The evidences in favor of great deluge are
found in the traditions of all the older nations,
| and there have been discovered within few
years, accounts that are as old as that in Cen
esis and all point to great historic fact There
is but little weight to be given to the socalled
| geological proofs of universal deluge, because
| it has been found that these called evidences
| are far too ancient in origin. and would take us
back 90, 600 years instead of s. 000 But there are
| abundant and strong evidences of great crisis
| in the regions of the Caspian sea and the parts
near which we locate the first nations The BIZ
! BILE account shows that not only we're the win
dows Of heaven opened for the rain, but that the
| fountains Of the great deep broke up
(chap. vii, III, and that in the end 1.-THE fount-
| aims of che deep and the windows of heaven
were stopped" (chap. viii q. These sup
posed to have been openings OF the earth, caused
| by great subsistence Of the crust and through
| these came pouring volumes Of water Geolo-
| gists declare that in the region of the Caspian
sea former great upheaval of the earth was fol-
lowed by very great sinking Of the crust. and
| that when the immense basin of the Caspian was